She is growing up...

I looked into the eyes and face of my 8 year old this afternoon and said to her, "You are becoming so growny". Is that even a word? I looked into her eyes and could see confidence, which is hard to notice in a shy person. She is more than 4 feet tall (4' 3" I think) and wears a size 4-4.5 shoe at age 8 so physically, yes she is growing up. But in alot of the things she does and in the ways she acts, she is "growny". I remember when she was in 3 year old preschool and I began working part-time at her school, where I still work today, and she and I would "hang-out" after preschool each day. She would go anywhere I went. We would eat Labamba (mexican) for lunch about every other day, and to this day the employees there still know her by name. She went everywhere with me and we would even take naps together in the afternoons, especially after I was pregnant with angel #2. Emma was my buddy then and she still is today. Thank you, God, for her! There is none other like her!